My picks from ScienceDaily

Past Religious Diversity And Intolerance Have Profound Impact On Genetics Of Iberian People:

New research suggests that relatively recent events had a substantial impact on patterns of genetic diversity in the southwest region of Europe. The study, published on December 4th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, shows that geographical patterns of ancestry appear to have been influenced by religious conversions of both Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula.

Genetic Ancestry Of African-Americans Reveals New Insights About Gene Expression:

The amount of proteins produced in cells--a fundamental determinant of biological outcomes collectively known as gene expression--varies in African American individuals depending on their proportion of African or European genetic ancestry according to new research led by Alkes L. Price of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

Happiness Is 'Infectious' In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual -- Phenomenon:

If you're happy and you know it, thank your friends--and their friends. And while you're at it, their friends' friends. But if you're sad, hold the blame. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego have found that "happiness" is not the result solely of a cloistered journey filled with individually tailored self-help techniques. Happiness is also a collective phenomenon that spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion.

Decline Of Roman And Byzantine Empires 1,400 Years Ago May Have Been Driven By Climate Change:

The decline of the Roman and Byzantine Empires in the Eastern Mediterranean more than 1,400 years ago may have been driven by unfavorable climate changes.

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